| Twenty20 cricket has undoubtedly changed the face | | | | removal of the icon status. The previous two |
| of the sport. Unlike Test matches that take five | | | | seasons saw five of India's elite players awarded this |
| days to finish if played to their completion, a T20 | | | | honour which meant that they would automatically |
| game can be over in a matter of hours meaning | | | | receive at least 15% more than the next best paid |
| sports fans can easily catch a game or two in one | | | | player in their team. As well as Sachin Tendulkar, the |
| day. | | | | four players to be labelled as icons were Rahul |
| The format of the game has caught the world's | | | | Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj |
| attention for two major events. One, Stanford's | | | | Singh. |
| Twenty20 for $20m, offered the winners of a | | | | Although the restricted bidding process won't attract |
| one-off exhibition match a huge cash prize while the | | | | the same number of headlines, many of the game's |
| other, the Indian Premier League, is approaching its | | | | stars are set to be involved in this year's IPL. |
| third year and is a playground for rich businessmen | | | | Included in the highest earners are Harbajan Singh, |
| and the world's top players. | | | | Shane Bond and Chris Gayle, who famously said he'd |
| Because of the rising prices of players, a cap was | | | | rather play Twenty20 than Test cricket, much to the |
| put on the money that could be spent on an | | | | displeasure of many of cricket's traditionalists. |
| individual. The increasing payments started in 2008 | | | | Because of the level of quality on display, many |
| when Australian Andrew Symonds cost $1.35m while | | | | crickets fans the world over will make the trip to |
| Indian hero Mahendra Singh Dhoni cost $1.5m. The | | | | India in March or April to see some of the |
| following year the English pair of Kevin Pietersen and | | | | tournament. Because of the high demand, tickets and |
| Andrew Flintoff topped this as both cost their clubs - | | | | hotels will be in short supply and many travellers will |
| Bangalore Royal Challengers and Chennai Super Kings | | | | be looking to book as much as they can beforehand |
| - $1.55m a piece. | | | | either using the internet or by calling ahead. |
| This year a cap of $1m was placed on bidding and | | | | But, while phoning India trying to find a hotel can be |
| five players were sold in the $900,000 - $1m price | | | | an expensive task but by checking out all the |
| range: Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacqes Kallis, Brett Lee, | | | | different offers, it is possible to find cheap calls to |
| Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma. | | | | India to help cut down costs. |
| Another change for the 2010 season was the | | | | |